The paper explores the linguistic landscape in schools (schoolscape) and their messages transmitted as hidden curricula and covert semantic representations. The concept of schoolscape refers to the totality of visual materials, such as notice boards, tableaus, displays, teaching materials, maps, building signs, marks, etc. that can be found within the space of a school. These reflect on the life and communicational needs of the social environment, articulated in a given period of time. This visual linguistic configuration of the educational scene is an essential part of the “hidden curriculum” of the pedagogical space at hand. The study relies on empirical data obtained in a specific field, namely, in the schools of a Hungarian ethnic minority community from Romania where bilingualism represents a special form of social existence. Data were collected through the observation and documentation of the linguistic landscape, through focus group discussions with pupils and individual interviews with the educators. The paper offers a detailed description of the schoolscapes’ general characteristics, and a thematic analysis of these landscapes; it also presents the representations of local identity and patterns of language use as they are displayed and constructed by the visual configuration of the given spaces.
Key words:
Linguistic landscape; Schoolscape; Bilingualism; Language attitude; Hidden curriculum
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